Export of cement policy relaxed: specified HS coded cement reclassified as free for export, replacing the prior prohibition.
The Foreign Trade Policy entry for S.No. 72A in Chapter 25 has been substituted to list specified HS codes for cement and to change the export policy for those codes to Free, replacing a prior Prohibited classification that had allowed supplies from the Domestic Tariff Area to Special Economic Zones for use within the SEZ.

Deduction eligibility under section 36(1)(xii) approved for National Dairy Development Board, subject to conditions and separate accounting.
Notification approves the National Dairy Development Board as a recognised development board for deduction purposes, conditional on expenditure being incurred for objects authorised by the Board Act, not being capital expenditure, not being deductible under any other provision, and being recorded in a separate account; the notification operates from the start of the stated assessment year.

Duty exemption permits subcontract processing abroad and allows limited spares supply for after sale service under export schemes.
Amendment permits goods partially processed or manufactured in export oriented units to be taken out of India for subcontract processing and cleared abroad if specified in the Letter of Permission or Letter of Intent. It bars debonding of capital goods under the Export Promotion Capital Goods scheme where the user industry has not met the positive NFE criteria at clearance, allows spares/component exemption up to five percent of prior year FOB for after sale service, and replaces an Annexure entry to allow other approved items for export production.

Anti-dumping duty on sodium nitrite continued to offset dumping and protect the domestic industry.
Imposition of anti-dumping duty on sodium nitrite imports from or involving the European Union is prescribed as the difference between a specified amount per metric unit and the landed value of the imported goods, with "landed value" defined as the assessable value under the Customs Act (excluding certain listed tariff duties). The duty applies to the product classification specified in the Customs Tariff, covers identified origin and export scenarios, and remains effective for a statutory period from the date of publication unless earlier revoked or amended.

Anti-dumping duty on Sulphur Black imposed against Chinese-origin imports, with differentiated rates by producer and exporter.
Anti-dumping duties are imposed on Sulphur Black (BR240) from the People's Republic of China after findings of dumping, substantial dumping margins, and material injury to the domestic industry; differentiated provisional duty rates are prescribed by producer and exporter per metric ton in US dollars.

Subcontract processing abroad allowed for partially processed export goods, subject to specified permission and NFE conditions.
Permits partially processed or packaged goods to be taken out of India for subcontract processing and cleared without return if specified in the Letter of Permission/Letter of Intent; disallows EPCG capital goods clearance or debonding where positive NFE criteria are unmet at the time of clearance as per Para 6.18(d); extends exemption to spares and components up to 5% of FOB value of prior year exports provided CIF of such imports is included for NFE computation; ANNEXURE-I Sl. No.17 replaced to allow other items needed for production for export with Board approval.

Export prohibition on cement reinstated, with exceptions for supplies from DTA to SEZ and exports to Nepal.
The notification amends ITC(HS) Schedule 2 by inserting tariff heading 2523 for cement and related subheadings and establishes a prohibition on export of cement under those HS codes. Subsequent substitutions reaffirm the export ban while carving out two exceptions: supplies from the Domestic Tariff Area to SEZ units or SEZ Developers/Co Developers for use within the SEZ, and exports to Nepal.

Export restrictions on edible oils relaxed, allowing specified exemptions for certain oils and conditional deemed exports.
Paragraph 1.1 of the notification is substituted to exempt certain exports from the prohibition: Castor Oil; Coconut Oil exported via Kochi Port; deemed exports of edible oils to 100% export oriented units where the final product is non edible; oils produced from specified minor forest produce listed by ITC (HS) codes even if edible; and exports from the Domestic Tariff Area to SEZs for consumption in manufacture of processed food products.

Port operational scope revised: scheme restricted to specified ports while allowing cross-port import-export interchangeability.
The amendment limits the scheme for Chapter 44 wood items to specified ports and permits importers to import wood logs at one listed port and export sawn timber from a paired or other listed port, treating Mangalore and Tuticorin as the same port and providing a similar interchangeable facility among Kandla, Mumbai, Mundra and Nhavasheva to allow imports at any of those ports and exports from the same or any remaining ports.

Foreign Trade Policy update consolidates Annual Supplement under statutory authority, bringing the revised policy into force.
Central Government, under the powers conferred by Section 5 of the Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act, 1992 read with paragraph 1.2 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2004-2009, notifies the Foreign Trade Policy, 2004-2009 incorporating the Annual Supplement updated on 11 April 2008 as contained in the Annexure, with the consolidated policy effective from 1 April 2008.

Approval under section 10(23C)(iv) confirms tax exemption for Pragya Chaitanya Foundation subject to statutory compliance.
Approval of Pragya Chaitanya Foundation Trust under section 10(23C)(iv) of the Income tax Act is granted by notification S.O. 879 dated 10 April 2008 for assessment year 2007 08 and onwards, subject to conformity with and compliance to sub clause (iv) of clause (23C) and rule 2C of the Income tax Rules, 1962.

Anti-dumping duty on Diclofenac Sodium imports from China with differentiated rates by producer-exporter combinations and time limit.
Provisional anti-dumping duty imposed on Diclofenac Sodium under Customs Tariff heading 2942 from the People's Republic of China after a finding of exports below normal value causing material injury; differentiated duty rates apply by producer-exporter combinations and by origin/export combinations, expressed per unit in national currency, and the duty is effective for a specified limited period.

Scientific research association approval requires sole research purpose, audited accounts and certified donation-use statements or withdrawal may follow.
Approval as a scientific research association is conditional: the organization must have sole objective of undertaking scientific research, carry out research itself, maintain books of account and obtain an audit by a qualified accountant with the audit report furnished to the tax jurisdictional authority by the return filing due date, and maintain an auditor-certified statement of donations received and applied to scientific research to accompany the audit report.

Scientific research association approval conditioned on sole research purpose, audited accounts, and certified donation statements.
Approval for M/s Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata as a scientific research association is subject to conditions: sole objective of scientific research; conduct research activity itself; maintain books of account and obtain audit by a qualified accountant with the audit report filed by the return due date; and maintain a separate auditor certified statement of donations received and amounts applied for scientific research to accompany the audit report.

Research organisation approval permits tax benefit for donations, subject to audit, separate accounts, and genuine research compliance.
Approval permits donors to obtain tax benefit for sums paid to Jawaharlal Nehru University for scientific research from 1.4.2007, subject to conditions: utilization of sums for scientific research; research through faculty or enrolled students; maintenance of separate books of account for research receipts and expenditures with an audit by a qualified accountant and timely submission of the audit report to tax authorities; and provision of a separately certified statement of donations received and amounts applied for research. Approval may be withdrawn for failures to comply or if research is not genuine.

Approval under Section 35(1)(ii) conditional on scientific research use, audited separate accounts and certified donation statements.
Approval is granted to Banaras Hindu University in the category of University for purposes of clause (ii) of sub section (1) of section 35, read with Rules 5C and 5E, effective 1 4 2007, subject to conditions requiring that sums received be utilized for scientific research carried out by faculty or enrolled students, that separate books of account for such sums be maintained and audited by a qualified accountant with the audit report furnished to the tax authorities by the return due date, and that a certified statement of donations and amounts applied to research accompany the audit; approval may be withdrawn for non compliance or cessation of genuine research.

Research approval under Section 35(1)(ii) requires compliant accounting and audit to preserve tax favoured status for donations.
Approval is granted to Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology under clause (ii) of sub section (1) of section 35 read with Rules 5C and 5E, effective 1 4 1998, as an 'other Institution' partly engaged in scientific research, subject to conditions: sums received must be used for scientific research; research must be carried out by faculty or enrolled students; separate books of account and a separate statement of donations and amounts applied must be maintained; such books must be audited by a defined accountant and the audit report and certified donations statement furnished to the tax authority by the income tax return due date.

Land customs stations updated to establish Kolkata Gede Darsana Dhaka route for Bangladesh cross border trade via official amendment.
Amendment substitutes the Table entry for Bangladesh to specify the land customs route as Kolkata - Gede - Darsana - Dhaka, issued under the authority of section 7(c) of the Customs Act and modifying Notification No.63/94-Customs (N.T.) to formalise that corridor for import and export by land or inland waterways.

Exemption to Singapore-origin goods: government lowers qualifying percentage thresholds for import exemptions under Customs Act.
Central Government directs targeted amendments to two exemption notifications for goods of Singapore origin by substituting the preambular percentage thresholds in Notification No. 74/2005-Customs and Notification No. 75/2005-Customs with lower figures, thereby changing the qualifying threshold for the specified import exemptions; the notification identifies the instruments amended and records prior publication and amendment history.

Notified date for amended mutual fund and foreign institutional investor regulations set as 21 April 2008.
SEBI fixes the notified date for commencement of amendments: the notification designates the notified date for sub regulation (1) of regulation 2 of the Mutual Funds (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2007 and for regulation 2 of the Foreign Institutional Investors (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2007, thereby specifying when those amendment provisions become operative.